WELCOME to the latest edition of the weekly BSPA bulletins keeping you in touch with news, views and fixtures from the tracks up and down the country.

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REIGNING champion Chris Harris will start the defence of his British title at King's Lynn on Wednesday, May 12.

Harris has been drawn at the Norfolk Arena alongside Coventry colleague Eddie Kennett in the second semi-final.

In-form Ipswich star Scott Nicholls will start the first semi-final at Sheffield as one of the favourites to win after a fine start to the season and Wolverhampton's Grand Prix star Tai Woffinden is also in that meeting.

Sheffield favourites Ricky Ashworth and Richard Hall also figure on their own track on Thursday, May 6, along with former Tigers skipper Andre Compton.

British Speedway management committee member Neil Machin said: “I’m personally delighted to see these meetings back on the calendar and you only have to look down the line-ups to see the fans are in for a treat.

"There have been no seedings and with the British Final itself now carrying greater importance with a place at Cardiff on the line, the British Championship has once again come alive. I'm looking forward to it and I'm sure the King's Lynn semi-final will be every bit as exciting as the one at my own track."

The top eight from each meeting will go through to the British Final at Wolverhampton on Monday, June 14, which is the second meeting in the 2010 Super 7even series. It's the second time Wolves have hosted the prestigious event which was held at Poole last year when Harris won in brilliant fashion.

BELLE VUE boss Chris Morton has hailed the club's winter signing of the experienced Leigh Lanham to add bite to the Aces' lower-order, after a 13-point haul helped his side to an emphatic home win over Eastbourne.

Morton said: "Leigh is proving a terrific signing for us. He has put a real sting in the tail end of our side. He’s a revelation.

"He said that signing for us was a dream move for him, but it is working out that way for us as well. He is so tough out there on the track when he has to be."

COVENTRY boss Alun Rossiter is desperate to strengthen the Bees' lower-order, but efforts to bring in a new Polish rider appear to have stalled at present.

Rossiter said: "We aren't strong enough at the bottom. Unfortunately Filip's (Sitera) confidence is low at the moment, and I don't really know why that is because he's been here before, and he's done it before, but it's not happening at the moment.

"I've had somebody lined up to come in, and everybody knows he's Polish, but with the sad death of the Polish president he hasn't been practising - and the Polish riders have this thing in their head about practice. It's very frustrating for us."

EASTBOURNE were thankful for the efforts of Joonas Kylmakorpi, whose 15-point haul at Belle Vue included three heat wins and prevented the Aces from hitting the 60 mark.

Kylmakorpi also top-scored at Arlington on Saturday as the Eagles were held to a second home draw, this time by Ipswich, as they await their first win of the season.

IPSWICH boss Pete Simmons is desperate for a maximum haul of points at home to Eastbourne on Thursday after his side picked up a draw at Arlington last weekend.

Simmons said: "We really need to make sure that we collect all three points on Thursday, but we can’t afford to take anything for granted just because we drew at their place.

"Matej Zagar missed the meeting on Saturday but he is back in their line-up this week and he is a Foxhall track specialist so we have to be really on the ball and I shall be looking for more consistency from our boys."

LAKESIDE kept up their impressive start to the Elite League campaign with an away win at Swindon followed by en emphatic 59-32 home demolition of Coventry.

Hammers boss Jon Cook said: "We've ridden fantastically well tonight with every member of the team playing a part. I believe there's plenty to look forward to and a lot more to come. A lot of the credit goes to the track staff, who produced a great circuit today and helped us generate lots of entertainment for the fans.

"There are a lot of stern tests to come here in this league but we've started very well - let's hope it continues."

PETERBOROUGH's winter signing Lewis Bridger is desperate to kick-start his season having struggled for points so far despite the Panthers' good results as a team.

Bridger said: "I certainly hope there is nothing major wrong and it is just a case of trying a few different things and experimenting a bit until I get myself going again.

"Obviously I want that to happen sooner rather than later. I want to show the Peterborough fans what I’m about - and that’s not being stuck at the back."

POOLE boss Neil Middleditch revealed that No.1 rider Chris Holder "got angry" with himself over his early performance at Coventry - and then won his last three rides as the Pirates notched their first away win of the season.

Middleditch said: "Chris was angry with himself and then came out and notched up three brilliant wins when we really needed them. He was probably feeling a bit concerned about trailing in last in Heat 5, but we all know what Chris can do.

"We had a chat during the interval and agreed we couldn’t let the victory slip away and with Chris leading the way, we came through in the end."

SWINDON star Simon Stead admitted he has to put his Heat 15 engine failure at Blunsdon last Thursday - which turned a likely draw into a Lakeside away win - behind him.

Stead said: "That’s speedway. You’ve just got to keep riding and not let it get you down too much.

"I think our lack of track time showed early on in the meeting, but I thought we did come back strong. It did look like we were going to come back at one stage but a couple of things tripped us up. We certainly deserved a point out of it if nothing else.”

WOLVERHAMPTON star Fredrik Lindgren roared to a paid maximum as the Monmore men set up a local derby Knockout Cup quarter-final with Coventry by overcoming Ipswich over two legs.

Lindgren said: "I think this team can steadily improve throughout the season and we can be a major force. It's all about being the best team in September and October and, whilst Poole are the best team right now anything can happen over the next few months.

"If it wasn't for the Poole meeting we would be feeling pretty good about ourselves. To win the Elite Shield and get through our cup tie against Ipswich is a nice start to the season."

PREMIER LEAGUE LATEST...

BERWICK have vowed to put a 65-25 hammering at Edinburgh firmly behind them - although they do have an injury concern over high-scoring reserve Craig Branney.

A club statement read: "It is fairly safe to say we’ll not see as poor a performance as this from another Berwick side this season as that was definitely rock-bottom and everything will be an improvement from now on. It was nothing short of a complete disaster, and it will not happen again."

BIRMINGHAM manager Graham Drury was a happy man as his team recorded back to back away wins at Redcar and Scunthorpe to take full control of their Premier Trophy group.

Drury said: "We still have a little bit of work to do but obviously we're in a good position and it would be a major disappointment if we failed to win the group from here. I have always said I want my teams to be competitive in every competition and the way our season has started I think we can be."

EDINBURGH boss John Campbell admits his side face an uphill battle to win their Premier Trophy group - although he has not given up on qualification for the semi-finals.

Campbell said: "I always thought it was between ourselves and Newcastle to win the northern group and clearly Newcastle now have the upper hand. Even if we win all our remaining matches, it may not be enough to take us through, although we could still make it as best second-placed team."

GLASGOW recorded their biggest win of the season with an impressive all-round performance to defeat Berwick 58-35, with Travis McGowan, James Grieves and Josh Grajczonek all hitting double figures.

McGowan said: "It would have been nice on a personal level to get a full house but I have no complaints whatsoever as I think that I was more comfortable than at any other time in the season so far and the team recorded a very comfortable win. I'm settling in nicely and thoroughly enjoying it."

KING'S LYNN have made an early-season team change with reserve Ricky Wallace making way and being replaced by Darren Mallett.

Stars boss Rob Lyon said: "Signing Ricky was a knee jerk reaction after losing Alex Davies but we have decided to put that right and sign one of our own young British riders from the Young Stars team. Darren is a very capable rider around King’s Lynn and what we need is for him to also score well on away tracks."

NEWCASTLE opened up a clear lead at the top of the Premier Trophy Northern section with a weekend double win over Workington - their remarkable away record being extended with victory at Derwent Park.

Diamonds star Mark Lemon said: "Now we have got our first home win, we’ve got to make it a regular occurrence. We’re top of the table now with a four-point cushion, so we have to fancy our chances of making the semi-finals."

NEWPORT gained a fortunate draw from their home clash with Rye House after the Rockets' Linus Sundstrom was disqualified for a technical infringement in the last race.

Wasps promoter Nick Mallett said: "After such a great fighting display over Kings Lynn last weekend, this weekend’s results against Rye House have been most disappointing. I have no idea what the problem is at the moment. Kevin (Brown) and myself will be talking to the team before our trip to Kings Lynn and we expect a big improvement from them.".

REDCAR boss Brian Havelock is desperate to see his side notch a home victory at the fifth time of asking when Stoke provide the opposition on Thursday.

Havelock said: "The boys will have had a week away from the racing diary to get themselves prepared mechanically and mentally. They will be well up for a home victory on Thursday."

RYE HOUSE sit on top of the Southern Premier Trophy group after a positive weekend of results against Newport, starting with a 67-25 demolition of the Wasps at Hoddesdon.

The Rockets thought they had held on for a 46-44 victory in the return fixture but had to be content with two points for a 45-45 draw after the last-race disqualification of Linus Sundstrom for not having a rear wheel disc in place.

SCUNTHORPE were relieved to hear that No.1 rider David Howe received no serious injuries when he crashed out of Friday's clash with Birmingham - with Howe's absence a contributory factor to the Brummies' 49-41 win.

Scorpions managed Richard Hollingsworth said: "We were up against the favourites to win the league title so to lose by eight points without your number one is a decent effort. We now have thirteen days off so that can only help David. Hopefully he will be fit for the Redcar trip."

SHEFFIELD skipper Ricky Ashworth had mixed emotions after a fine individual display at Stoke on Saturday as the Tigers' narrow defeat left them with plenty to do in their Premier Trophy group.

Ashworth said: "We've got something out of the meeting and on a personal note I have to be happy to score so well but I know it could have been better, both for me and for the team. This meeting was one we needed to win and we didn't so we have to be disappointed from the point of view, but at least we got a point from it."

SOMERSET boss Steve Bishop is optimistic that the signing of Brent Werner in place of the injured Jay Herne will give the Rebels added strength in depth, with Ritchie Hawkins now at reserve.

Bishop said: "It's not dissimilar to how the team was set up in 2008, when it was quite often the points that were scored from the two reserves which swung a match our way, especially away from home."

STOKE'S fortunes took a major turn for the better with an impressive home win over fierce rivals Sheffield - despite the loss of No.1 and captain Jason Bunyan with a knee injury in his first ride.

Manager Malcolm Vasey said: "Everyone rode with a lot of courage. When you lose your No.1 and skipper after his first ride and are losing 3-9 after two heats, to come back to win at all is terrific. It was great to hear the crowd getting behind the lads, it really does make a difference."

WORKINGTON boss Ian Thomas is calling for his side to complete their Premier Trophy campaign on a high after suffering four defeats out of four so far.

Thomas said: "I was devastated after Saturday’s defeat, especially as we could only manage four heat wins and it was our second home defeat in a row. Not the way you want to start a new season. There are four Premier Trophy matches left and in those we have to get the job sorted."

NATIONAL LEAGUE action gets underway this weekend and you can find all relevant news, reports and other information in the NL section on www.speedwaygb.co .